The Great Charming Family Road Trip
by BlueFlower1
Summary: "What do you say to a road trip?" David proposed. "I borrowed the RV downstairs from Michael Tillman and I was thinking we could go away for a couple weeks." "Are you kidding?" Henry's voice rose in pitch. "Yes!" The Charmings go on a road trip, something Emma is flatly opposed against. But why? Charming Family feels, set mid season 2.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Just something new I'm trying out, set sometime around mid season 2 after Emma/MM return from the Enchanted Forest. Plz dont hesitate to leave a review! **

**Disclaimer: don't own OUAT. **

Chapter 1

"I'm sorry." Emma said flatly. "You want us to what?"

When she and David had come home from a long, boring day at the station dealing with all of the curse-breaking mayhem, all she'd anticipated was a relaxing night on the couch in front of the TV, maybe with a drink or two.

She had not imagined this.

Her tone did nothing to sway the cheeky grin on David's face. "Go on a road trip!" He replied brightly.

Emma shook her head in disbelief. "In...that tacky thing."

David nodded. "In that tacky thing. Which, by the way, is called an RV."

"Oh, no." Emma backed up, holding her hands out in protest. "No. There is _no _way. You can't be serious."

"I'm quite serious."

"No."

"Yes." He said, amused.

"Yes what?" Mary Margaret asked as she walked in, her arms full of groceries. Now that there were four people who lived in the apartment the amount of food needed had tripled, given that Henry was a growing boy and Emma and David tended to eat like one.

"Oh, good." Emma turned to her mother. "Tell your husband no."

"I can't tell him no if I don't know what I'm refusing to." Mary Margaret said with a wry grin as she handed several bags off to David. "Somebody want to fill me in?"

"You don't need to know." Emma insisted. "Just say no and spare us the humiliation. Please."

Mary Margaret blinked and turned to David. "What's going on?"

"Know what I was thinking would be perfect?" He started.

"Oh, no." Emma interrupted. "Don't you start spewing out your propaganda on her. She's gonna say yes."

"I know." David said cheekily before turning back to his wife. "We haven't had much time together since the curse broke."

"We freaking live together!" Emma cut in. "In this postage stamp sized apartment. That's not close enough for you?"

David waved a dismissive hand in her direction. "So anyways, as I was saying, I had the perfect idea. We take a couple weeks off for…" He walked over to the window and shoved the curtain aside, revealing _it _in all it's horrible glory. "A road trip." He brandished the ugly vehicle as if it was something to be proud of.

Mary Margaret frowned. "So _that's _what that was doing there. I thought someone parked their RV in the wrong place."

"Nope!" David grinned. "I called Michael Tillman and set everything up. He agreed to loan it to us, free of charge, in thanks for Emma breaking the curse."

"This is a bad idea." Emma stepped in front of her mother. "There's no way you could agree to this."

But the brunette was silent as she perused the vehicle, a finger tapping her chin. "Hmm. It has potential."

Emma's eyes widened in horror. "You're shitting me, right?"

"Language." Mary Margaret scolded immediately. "And no, I'm not."

"But of course we'll have to ask Henry." David said. "Though it's pretty sure what he's gonna say." He teased.

In response, Emma threw her hands up and slammed the door to the bathroom. "I'm gonna go take a shower."

* * *

All throughout dinner her parents were uncharacteristically quiet. As Emma shoveled back second helpings of Mary Margaret's spaghetti, one of the best things she'd ever tasted, she thought vaguely to herself that maybe, just maybe they'd forgotten all about David's stupid idea to go on a stupid family road trip. Dinner was over; she was almost home free.

She yawned widely; she could already feel her soft bed upstairs in the loft enveloping her tired muscles. Maybe she'd have a long bath first, despite having already showered. Although with four people and one bathroom she wouldn't be able to spend too much time in there.

Meanwhile, Henry chattered happily away about his day at school, followed by hanging out with his friend Grace at the park.

"Just a friend?" Emma teased, raising an eyebrow.

Henry nodded. "Yeah."

"Ha. Sure."

Henry didn't seem to pick up on her meaning. "Now that the curse has broken school is so much fun. Everyone has so many stories about their past lives in the Enchanted Forest. Kind of makes me wish I was from there too."

"Oh, no." Emma waved her fork in the air. "I've been there. Done that. Trust me. Life without indoor plumbing? So not fun. I don't even get why people go camping for fun. What's so amazing about sleeping on the cold, hard ground?"

"That's what sleeping bags are for." Henry pointed out.

"But they didn't have those in the Enchanted Forest." Emma argued.

"Know what's more fun than camping?" David cut in suddenly.

Oh, no. She could see the playful glint in his eyes. "Hey, Henry." Emma said loudly, hoping to deflect her son's attention. "Want to watch a movie?"

"Sure." He replied. But then he turned back to David. "What's more fun than camping?"

Emma groaned and rested her head on her hand. "Don't. Please don't."

"But we haven't had a chance to ask Henry yet." Mary Margaret said with doe eyed innocence. "He's part of the family too. He deserves a vote."

"Wait. What's going on?" Henry asked, confused.

"What do you say to a road trip?" David proposed. "I borrowed the RV downstairs from Michael Tillman and I was thinking we could go away for a couple weeks."

"Are you kidding?" Henry's voice rose in pitch. "Yes! An adventure with Snow White, Prince Charming, and Mom? Yes!"

"I told you." David said triumphantly as he turned to Emma. "He's game."

"Do you not want to go, Mom?" Henry asked.

"Um." She stalled, not wanting to be a party pooper but _honestly. _A road trip in an RV? No thanks. "Not really, no."

"Oh, but it'll be so fun!" Henry insisted. "We can eat tons of junk food and sing songs."

Emma looked horrified. "Singing? Count me out."

"Please?" He begged.

"Henry, I've been on plenty of road trips and they were anything but fun. Trust me."

"But Mom." He started. "I've never really been anywhere. You know...thanks to the curse."

Damnit. He was definitely her son. Smart as a whip, playing the curse card. Just as she was about to refuse yet again, she caught sight of a tiny pout making its way onto his face. Next step was what all parents feared: the puppy dog eyes.

She sighed heavily. "All right. Fine. I guess we can so on a silly road trip."

"YES!" Henry cheered as he reached over the table and high-fived David. "I knew she'd say yes once I asked. I knew it!"

"Wait a minute." Emma said. "You...knew?"

Mary Margaret and David looked as though they were attempting to swallow back laughter. They had been in on this from the start.

"I might've called Mary Margaret during lunch and mentioned it to her." David replied. "Who may or may not have told Henry."

"Great." Emma flopped back in her seat. "You all played me like a freaking card game."

"And it worked." Henry whooped. "Road trip! Road trip! Road trip! This is gonna be so much fun!" He began dancing around the room like a crazed maniac. A crazed maniac high on sugar.

Emma glared at Mary Margaret and David who were still laughing. "Oh yeah, real funny. We'll see just how amusing you two think it is when he's high off sugar for the next two weeks."

A road trip. With her family. There were about a million other unpleasant things she'd much rather do.

**A/N: So, who wants to know why Emma hates road trip so much? **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: completely blown away by the responses to the first ch! thanks! **

Chapter 2

Henry glanced at the clock on the bedside table. 8:57 am. He looked over from the bright red numbers to Emma's sleeping form in the bed across the room from his. She looked so peaceful that he almost felt bad about what he was going to do.

Almost.

Downstairs, he could already hear his grandmother bustling around. At least he assumed it was her,since David liked to sleep in just like Emma. Pots were clanging and the delicious smell of bacon wafted up the stairs, causing his stomach to growl loudly. 8:59.

With a cheeky grin, Henry positioned himself several feet away from the end of Emma's bed and crouched down. And just as the clock ticked over to 9:00, he took a running start, pounced up and landed stomach first directly on top of his mother.

"Jesus." Emma growled. "Not this again."

"Wake up wake up wake up!" He sang in her ear, causing her to groan loudly and pull the blanket up over her head.

"Henry, honestly." She mumbled, eyes still closed. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"Sorry." He giggled. "But get up!" He bounced up and down from his position on her back. "Come on."

"No." Emma's voice was muffled by the pillow she'd thrown over her head. "It's only," She turned her head to check the clock. "9. Come back in three hours and then maybe we'll talk."

"But Grams is already making breakfast." Henry protested.

Emma turned her head and opened a curious eye. "Is there bacon?"

"Yes."

She seemed to be considering this for a long moment, weighing the pros and cons of bacon vs. going back to sleep. Hunger must've won, for she finally pulled the blanket off and sat up.

Henry smiled triumphantly; this worked every time. He scooted off the bed and made his way towards the kitchen and of course the promise of a delicious breakfast.

"Morning Henry." Mary Margaret called from the stove where she was in fact, frying a pan full of bacon. "Sleep well?"

"Yep." Henry answered as he poured himself a tall glass of orange juice from the pitcher in the fridge. "Where's Gramps?"

His grandmother nodded her head in the direction of her and David's bedroom. "Where do you think?"

"Oh. Of course." Henry nodded. "Well, should we get him up? I already got Emma up."

Mary Margaret smirked. "Bet you enjoyed that."

"Not nearly as much as she did."

"It's a good thing I thought to make bacon, then."

"Yeah." Henry agreed. "But should we get Gramps up? Breakfast is almost ready and I don't wanna wait!" He sniffed at the air, nearly salivating at the delicious aroma of pancakes coming from the plate Mary Margaret had set out next to the cooling platter of bacon.

"Don't have to." His grandmother smiled mischievously.

Henry frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Just wait for it."

And then Henry realized what she'd meant; as the smells from their breakfast grew stronger and stronger, he heard the squeak of someone getting up. David shuffled into the kitchen, rubbing at his eyes as he followed the smell.

"I really hope that's bacon I was smelling."

"It is." Henry piped up.

"Like father, like daughter." Mary Margaret commented as she wiped her hands on her apron."How else would we get you and Emma out of bed?"

As if on cue, Henry suddenly heard loud, thumping footsteps coming down the stairs. He looked up to see Emma, her hair still wet from the shower as she zipped up her hoodie.

"I hope you left enough water for everyone else." David teased.

"You know what they say. First come first serve." Emma automatically made her way over to the coffee maker, where Mary Margaret had oh so thoughtfully prepared a large pot, and poured herself a mug. She peered at the towering stack of bacon on the plate and reached out to snag a piece, only to have her hand slapped away by her mother.

"Wait until it's on the table." The brunette scolded.

Emma just rolled her eyes and waited till her mother was turned around and then, quick as a whip, popped a piece into her mouth, sticking her tongue childishly at Mary Margaret's back as she did so. At the same time, David who had been eyeing the plate with great interest snagged a couple of pieces as well, tossing one to Henry.

Henry grinned his thanks as he chewed on his bacon. Extra crispy, just the way everyone liked it. It was so amusing to see his mother and grandfather act so childish. And it paid off for him as well.

"I swear, you two can be even worse than Henry." Mary Margaret sighed.

"How did you see that?" Henry asked in amazement. "You were turned around."

"You're forgetting that I've worked with kids for 28 years."

"Hey." Emma protested. "I'm not a kid."

"You certainly behave like one." Mary Margaret countered. She held the plate out of reach just as David's hand started to snake towards it again. "Instead of standing there maybe you three should help set the table or something. The faster it's set the faster you get to eat."

"I like to think that I'm helping just be staying out of the way." David joked as he grabbed a pile of silverware.

"And by eating!" Henry added.

Soon enough the table was set, full with steaming plates of eggs, toast, bacon, and pancakes. The once full pitcher of juice sat in the middle along with the bottle of maple syrup. Henry reached eagerly for the syrup and dumped about half of it over his plate, effectively dousing his pancakes but also his bacon, eggs, and toast.

"Save some for everyone else." Emma said as she snatched the bottle before his entire plate was swimming in the sticky liquid.

"And by that she means herself." David teased, settling in his spot at the table.

"Hey. It's not my fault that pancakes have to go with syrup."

"And that you have such a huge sweet tooth?" Mary Margaret added.

"That too."

"S'wut we doin...day?" Henry asked, his mouth full of food.

Emma wrinkled her nose. "Swallow first, kid."

"Sorry." He did as told. "So what are we doing today?"

"Nothing productive, that's for sure. Or anything that requires dealing with property issues or age old feuds that people somehow remember after they got their memories back." Emma replied

David raised his glass in her direction. "I second that."

"Sorry, Emma." Mary Margaret wiped her mouth daintily with a napkin. "Looks like we're going to have to break your nothing productive rule. We need to plan our road trip."

While Emma visibly drooped and bit back a groan, Henry brightened.

"Oh yeah! Almost forgot about that."

Soon, the table was cleared, the dishes left to soak in a heaping tower in the sink. Mary Margaret bit her lip and glanced back at them. "I really think we should wash them first."

"Yes, it would be oh so tragic to have a pile of dirty dishes in the sink." Emma replied sarcastically. "A travesty, really."

"We can wash them later!" Henry said as he dragged over a large, unmistakably hand drawn map of the US, which by the looks of it had been a school project.

They sat down around the table, Mary Margaret bringing out a large box of multicolored pens from her teacher supplies, along with a pad of paper. "So where should we go?"

Wrong question. The second the words left her lips there was a large outburst of voices that instantly filled the apartment.

"Disneyland!" Henry cried. "I heard it's super cool."

"Boston." David insisted. "I want to see where Emma used to live."

"We should go to DC. You guys will love it." Emma responded.

Mary Margaret bit back a smile at the childish way in which her family was acting. "All right, all right." She said loudly in what Henry had dubbed her "teacher's voice". "One at a time."

"Disneyland!" Henry repeated. "I saw it in pictures."

"Sorry, kid." Emma said. "There's no way in hell-uh I mean California's a little too far. It's across the country. Driving there will take too long."

"Oh." He pouted. "That's too bad."

"Boston?" David suggested again. "It's not too far."

Mary Margaret nodded thoughtfully and wrote Boston in large letters on her pad. Meanwhile, Henry reached for a sticker and placed it next to Boston on the map laid out on the table.

"If we're going to Boston we have to go to DC." Emma said. "Might as well, right?" She nudged Henry, who promptly stuck a sticker next to the nation's capital.

"I was thinking Niagara Falls." Mary Margaret piped up. "It's supposed to be really pretty."

"Eh." Emma shrugged blithely. "Been there, done that. It's just a waterfall."

But Henry had a different idea. "Oooh. I wanna go." He slapped a sticker next to that location.

"What, we're all going to ride the rapids in barrels?" Emma smirked. "Which is pretty fun, actually, but I don't see all of you doing that."

"Barrels?" Henry blinked. "You can do that?"

Emma nodded. "It's such a rush. But other than that there's no reason to go."

"We should totally do that."

"I don't think so." David interrupted. "Might be a little dangerous."

Henry rolled his eyes in a perfect Emma imitation. "Party pooper."

"Since we're going there we might as well stop by the Great Lakes." Emma suggested. "Or is that too dangerous?"

"No." Mary Margaret replied. "That sounds great."

Henry plunked down a sticker there and uncapped a bright red marker, which he used to connect all of the dots together.

"So there we have it." He said when finished, sitting back proudly.

Emma peered at the map and almost spat out her coffee; at the top he'd written "The Great Charming Family Road Trip" in large letters.

Great wasn't exactly the word she'd used to describe this journey, but seeing the excited look on her son's face was almost enough to make her dread this a little less.

Almost.

**A/N: so. boston, dc, niagara falls, the great lakes. anyone who's been/live feel free to PM me/leave a review or something about what those places are like. I live on the west coast and have never been to any of those places. **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: sorry for the long-ish wait. **

Chapter 3

"We need to stock up on groceries and things." Mary Margaret announced. "I don't know about you but I don't plan on eating fast food for two weeks."

"Aww." Henry stuck out his lower lip.

"Trust me." Emma said. "Fast food may all day, every day may sound great but when you actually have McDonalds all the time it it starts to suck."

"Really?"

"Totally. I speak from experience when I say that."

"What experience?" Henry wanted to know.

Emma's eyes widened and she cleared her throat awkwardly, feeling the burn of her near miss. She'd nearly told Henry all about her past, something he _did not _need to know about. "Just trust me. Burgers and fries have got nothing on Mary Margaret's cooking."

"Thank you." Her mother replied with a smile, thankfully not asking any annoying questions. "So I guess that means we'll have to go food shopping."

Thirty minutes later Emma found herself perusing the aisle of Storybrooke's general store, the store that sold everything from toiletries to groceries to tools. The first time Emma had walked in she'd jokingly said that it was the lovechild of Home Depot and Safeway, only to have Mary Margaret blankly ask what Home Depot and Safeway were.

She looked over at her mother with a wry smile. "What's with the list?" She asked as she pushed the large cart down the tiled floor. "Haven't you ever heard of using an app?"

"A what?" Mary Margaret murmured distractedly as she squinted up at the selection of cereals. "Do you think Henry will be ok with Rice Krispies or will he want Froot Loops too?"

"Oh, Froot Loops, definitely." Emma reached up and tossed the box into the box. "And Cocoa Puffs too for good measure."

Mary Margaret just rolled her eyes as she saw all of the sugary items in the cart, including cinnamon and raisin bagels ("what else would we eat for breakfast?" Emma had asked), another large bottle of maple syrup ("because pancakes without syrup are just tragic"), and marshmallows ("hot cocoa without marshmallows? yuck!").

"Wouldn't want to go hungry." The brunette said sarcastically.

"Now you're getting it." Emma said, adding a second box of Froot Loops. "Hey, since I agreed to this trip I get to eat whatever I want. Without you nagging."

"Deal." Mary Margaret looked over her list again. "Just one more thing. I'll be right back."

Just then, a shadow appeared over the filled to the brim cart. Emma looked up to see Regina towering over their supplies.

She picked up the box of Froot Loops. "I don't appreciate you feeding my son all this garbage."

Emma rolled her eyes. "They're for me."

Regina nodded slowly. "I should've known. Your eating habits are even poorer than Henry's."

"Yet I still manage to look this good." Emma countered dryly. "How _do _I do it?"

"What do you need so much food for?" Regina asked, peering into their cart snidely. "How many people do you have living in that apartment again?"

"None of your…" Emma started to say but she was interrupted by her mother's reappearance.

"Oh, hello Regina." Said Mary Margaret as she dumped an armful of various fruits, including bananas, oranges, grapes, and...was that a pineapple?

"Hello." Regina said, her tone clipped as she looked at her former enemy with obvious disdain.

Mary Margaret didn't seem to notice, or maybe she just ignored it. "How are you?" She asked brightly.

"Fine. Or rather, I was."

Again, the perky princess chose to disregard her stepmother's comment. "What are you doing here?"

In response Regina held up a bag of apples. "The same thing as everyone else. What else would I be doing? Laundry?"

"Right."

"So what do you need so much food for?" Regina asked. "Having a goodbye party? In that case have a safe trip to wherever the hell you're going. Don't bother to write."

"No. We're going on a road trip!"

Uh oh. Mistake. Emma watched as fury crossed Regina's face, quickly followed by a steely look in her eyes.

"Oh? How nice. When were you going to tell me that you were leaving town with _my _son?"

"He's my son too." Emma jumped in. "And I have every right to take him to see places and do things your little curse never allowed him to do."

Regina pursed her lips. "Well. Have fun on your...silly little trip."

Emma smiled snarkily in response. "We will."

Regina turned to leave but suddenly Mary Margaret spoke up. "Why don't you come with us?"

Both Emma and Regina turned to gape at Mary Margaret, their jaws hitting the ground with audible cracks.

"What?" Emma gasped.

"You have to be kidding." Regina said flatly.

Mary Margaret shook her head and ignored her daughter's protests. "Nope. I'm not. Regina, you should come with us."

Regina laughed derisively. "And why, pray tell, would I ever do something as foolish as that?"

"Finally." Emma muttered. "We agree on something."

"I'm serious." Mary Margaret insisted. "You're family and we still haven't thanked you for helping Emma and I come back to Storybrooke."

"Then just say thanks and all of us can get on with our lives."

"Thank you." Emma said loudly. "There."

"Henry will love it if you come."

"No." Regina shook her head.

"No freaking way." Emma agreed.

"Yes. Regina, you're coming with us and that's that." Mary Margaret said cheerily before pushing the cart past her shocked stepmother and daughter.

* * *

"I'm sorry." David said as he paced around next to the RV. "You did _what?!"_

Normally David's reaction, so alike to Emma's when she first found out about his little road trip idea, would've elicited a laugh from her but this was _serious. _

"David, it's not that big of a deal." Mary Margaret insisted as she dragged several bags up the stairs. "Really. Stop being such a baby."

"I'm not being a baby." He said as he followed his wife into the vehicle. "What would have possibly possessed you to invite one of our worst enemies to our family vacation? Emphasis on family."

Emma followed her parents into the RV, keeping an ear on their argument. She noted with a note of brief pleasure that the interior of the vehicle was a lot nicer than she'd expected. As she took in the two couch like seats facing each other she was suddenly struck by a similar vehicle with similar seats, except those in front of her were leather while the ones in her memory were made of upholstery.

A loud voice broke her thoughts. "Well Regina is family." Mary Margaret was saying.

"Yes, family that has tried to kill all of us at some point."

"That may be true but she's changed. I mean, look at the way she helped Emma and I come back. Henry said if it wasn't for her we would've died thanks to that spell Gold created to keep out Cora."

"So? Don't forget that she tried to kill us. And cast the curse that..."

"That separated us for twenty eight years. Yes, I'm well aware of that. But she's Henry's mother too and you know she loves him very much no matter what she's done to us in the past."

"But..."

"Think about how happy this will make Henry." Mary Margaret pointed out. "I say its time for all of us to put all of this behind us and move on. For Henry."

"But..."

"David, I already invited her and there's no way I'm taking it back. So you better get used to the idea."

David sighed heavily and ran a hand over his face. "I suppose so." He turned and started walking away, leaving Mary Margaret to fiddle with the groceries and the cupboards. "Were you always sitting here?"

Emma nodded. "Yeah. Heard every word, if that's what you're asking."

"I take it you don't agree with your mother's grand plan?"

"Duh." Emma said with high amounts of sarcasm.

"So much for a peaceful vacation."

"Yeah. Really not looking forward to Regina making fun of us for two weeks."

David suddenly cast a look back at Mary Margaret, who was still busy with the food. "Here." He thrust a piece of paper into her hand.

"What's this?" Emma frowned at the messy writing. Like her, David's handwriting was nothing to be proud of. "Is this what I think it is?

"Yeah. What you and I are gonna need to survive being subjected to Regina's presence. I'd go get them myself but your mother's gonna need my help."

Emma hid a grin as she stuck the list in her pocket. "I like the way you think. But where exactly do you propose I put all of these...supplies? I doubt Mary Margaret will approve."

David shrugged. "I'm sure we can find a place."

**A/N: Regina coming along. Hmm this should be interesting. **


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Are we all set?" Mary Margaret ran over her list once more. "Food, pots and pans, plates, map, board games..."

"Board games?" Emma wrinkled her nose. "Really?"

"What else are we gonna do the whole time, sleep?" Henry said.

"Um, yeah." Emma responded. "That's what I'm planning to do." _And hopefully be drunk enough to tolerate Regina. _

She'd come back from the store laden with bottles and bottles hidden in the depths of her bag that would help her and David survive this...unique vacation. She had already been dreading this enough, all of the forced family family bonding that would surely happen. But with Regina present? Ugh.

She hoped Mary Margaret would deeply, deeply regret this when she and David were plastered.

There was one bright side to inviting the evil queen, though: it had made Henry very happy, albeit a bit nervous considering everything. She just hoped that everyone would be civil enough to give the kid the vacation he deserved.

As if on cue, Regina suddenly appeared at the end of the RV, a rolling suitcase in hand. Her posture was ramrod straight and her expression pinched, though she visibly relaxed when Henry came running over to give her a hug.

"Hi Mom!" He threw his arms around her. "I'm so glad you're coming with us."

She smiled stiffly but hugged him back. "Me too."

_Liar._ Emma thought as she shouldered her duffel and turned to climb up the steps that led into the RV. "Have you thought about our sleeping arrangements?" She asked her mother, who was busy securing the cupboard doors.

"Oh!" Mary Margaret looked up, flustered. "I forgot about that. One of the couches pulls out into a double bed."

"Which you assumed Henry and I would share." Emma finished. "You know. Before you went and invited Regina against our will."

"Enough." Mary Margaret frowned. "Well. I guess somebody will have to take one of the seats. They can recline a little but they're not the most comfortable. You and Regina can trade off. Sorry."

"Lovely." Regina, who had entered the RV with Henry, quipped. "Is there anything else you forgot?"

"It's fine." Emma broke in before world war 3 broke out. "I can take the seat." What she didn't add was that she had plenty of experience sleeping curled up in seats. And why she'd prefer not to sleep in the RV's pullout couch.

Regina nodded curtly. "Thanks. But it will only be for a week. As...generous as you've been I decided I will not impose for more than a week on what I'm sure will be a lovely little vacation."

"Oh, but we have plenty of food you're welcome to…" Mary Margaret started.

"I've decided." Regina cut in. "One week and then I will poof my way back to Storybrooke."

David, poking his head out of the bathroom, exchanged a quick glance with Emma; both bit their lips as they tried to hide their sighs of relief.

"All right." Mary Margaret shrugged. "Everyone ready?" She asked as she made her way over from the little kitchen area.

"Yep!" Henry answered excitedly. He settled himself onto one of the couches. There was a moment of awkwardness as Emma and Regina tried to decide where to sit; luckily Regina made the decision for her and plunked herself down next to Henry, sitting ramrod straight and looking downright uncomfortable as if afraid that the seat was somehow dirty.

Emma sat down on the second couch, stretching her legs out in front of her, settling in comfortably. She had to hand it to David. At least he'd chosen a nice RV.

* * *

To an outsider looking in, the first hour of the trip was silent. Relatively calm. While Mary Margaret read a book, David drove, Henry played a handheld video game, and Emma listened to music, Regina sat primly in her seat, not having changed position since they left Storybrooke.

Regina sighed as she thought about, for the thousandth time, the current predicament she was in. If someone told her several years ago that she'd been in an RV with her sworn enemies, their daughter, and the son she and that daughter kind of shared she'd laugh. And then probably rip their heart out for wasting her time.

And yet here she was. Why had she said yes? Or rather, she hadn't. She'd been forced to.

A loud tapping broke Regina out of her thoughts. She turned her head, looking for the source of the noise, her eyes narrowing as she realized what it was. "Could you not do that?"

Emma did not respond as she continued to look out the window, her head bobbing to whatever blasted into her head through her headphones.

"Hey!" Regina barked, standing up and yanking the earbuds out of the blonde's ears.

Emma looked up, irritation written all over her face. "You know, one of the most annoying things one can ever do is pull out somebody's earbuds. When someone is listening to music it kinda signals that they don't want to talk."

"Yeah, yeah." Regina rolled her eyes. "Maybe if you didn't listen to music at such a ridiculously loud volume you'd be able to hear me."

"Have you ever considered the thought that maybe the music was at such a high volume for that exact reason?"

"What, because you didn't want to hear me talk?"

"Hey, you said it. Not me."

Regina took a deep breath. She had a few choice comebacks lined up at the ready but decided at the last minute that they wouldn't be very appropriate for her son to hear. So she settled her curling her toes inside her boots, trying to calm herself down. But another loud tap and she could feel herself snap. "Would you please cut that out?"

"Cut what out?"

"That." Regina pointed at the windowsill behind Emma's seat, where her long fingernails were currently tapping along to the beat of the music blaring from her earbuds. "That incessant tapping."

"Why?" Emma smirked. "Is it annoying you?"

Regina curled her lip. "Yes. Would you please stop?"

"Well now that we're on the topic of annoying things why don't you quit sitting like you have a stick up your a-" Emma was cut off by Mary Margaret, who had obviously overheard the argument.

"We're almost to Boston, Emma." Mary Margaret interjected loudly. "Why don't you come and help your father navigate?"

"Fine." Throwing a dirty look at Regina, Emma stood up and walked over to where her parents were perusing the map. "Haven't you guys ever heard of GPS? Who uses paper maps anymore?"

As Regina listened to the Charmings bicker loudly over which direction to go, she sat back in her seat and straightened her blouse. She looked over at Henry, who was still immersed in his game. To his credit he didn't seem too bothered by their argument. Probably because the volume on his game was turned up too loudly.

"What're you doing?" She asked.

Henry pulled out an earbud. "Trying to get to level 30. It's so hard."

"Really?" She looked over and peeked at the dizzying array of moving things on the screen. Briefly she noted that it was the game she'd bought Henry, causing a smile to cross her face despite the less than ideal situation she was in. "Want to let me try?"

Her suggestion was met by a loud snort from Emma. "Are you serious?" Before she could say more Mary Margaret nudged her and brought her attention back to the map.

Henry looked skeptically at his adoptive mother. "Are you sure?"

"Scared I'll be better than you?"

"No." He scoffed, handing her the game. "Good luck."

Despite her show of bravado, Regina quickly found out that this was not as easy as it looked. She could barely keep up with the flashing lights and little characters darting everywhere. Funny. She'd handled many things, mastered magic under the instruction of one of the most fearful teachers in all the realms, and cast a curse that few would be able to do. In short, she'd overcome much and accomplished a lot. But when it came to the modern world...well she was bested by a mere video game.

"Too hard?" A voice above her asked. It was Emma, who stood above her with a raised eyebrow.

"No." Regina scoffed. But when the game let out a loud bleep to indicate that she'd lost she huffed with frustration and set it down onto her lap."I can't concentrate with you standing there."

"Yeah. Sure. Don't sweat it. I grew up playing games like that and even I still have trouble." She waved her hand for the game. "Lemmee see."

Regina handed it over. "Good luck. Let's see if you'll get a higher score."

"Oh, I know you will." Emma bent down over the game, her brow furrowed with concentration. When the game let out the inevitable bleep she cursed quietly under her breath.

"Died? Yeah I figured you would." Came Regina's mocking tone. "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't use that kind of language around my son."

Emma just stuck out her tongue in a childish move and restarted the level. "Damn-I mean God. How do you get past the ghosts?"

"Oh I know." Regina crossed over to the empty seat next to Emma and indicated with a long, red fingernail something on the screen. "The trick is to wait until they're facing you and then run."

"I could've figured that out." Emma retorted but she followed Regina's advice nonetheless, successfully bypassing the ghosts. "Oh man." She muttered. "What next?"

"I know." Henry piped up. Clearly, he wanted his game back. "Why don't you give it back?"

"Shush." Emma waved a dismissive hand. "We're busy."

"Try using your fireballs." Regina suggested, completely ignoring Henry.

"Oh, of course you'd suggest _that _out of all things."

"What can I say? They have proved to be effective."

Henry watched as his birth mom and his adoptive mother squint over his video game and exchange strategies. Part of him was annoyed that they'd just plucked it out of his hands and were now hoarding it but the other part was relieved that they'd stopped bickering.

Besides, watching them play and bond over a game of all things was kind of funny.

He crossed over to where his grandparents were driving. "Are we there yet?"

"Almost." Mary Margaret replied. "Take the next exit, David." She cast a look back at where Regina and Emma were huddled over his game. "Weren't you playing with that earlier?"

He shrugged. "Yeah."

"Well. At least they've stopped arguing." She looked up as the RV exited the freeway. "Emma." Mary Margaret called. "We're nearly there. Which way now?"

"Hmm." Emma said absently. "No, not _there._ You'll just die again and I don't feel like playing this level again. Go the other way."

"Which way do we go?"

"Just a minute."

"Emma!" Mary Margaret repeated, thinking to herself that maybe this was what dealing with a teenage Emma would've been like. "Do you want David to get lost again?"

That was apparently the most effective strategy. "Good point." When she looked up she looked mildly horrified to discover that she was sitting next to _Regina _of all people, playing a game. "I'm coming."

"Great." Regina replied sarcastically. "Go help your idiot parents navigate a road a toddler could with their eyes closed and leave me to die in the cave."

"Hey, it's not my fault they can't read a map."

"Agreed."

"Maps in this world are confusing." David piped up, while Mary Margaret just shook her head. Even though Emma and Regina were having a laugh at their expense at least they weren't trying to kill each other anymore.

For now.

**A/N: Any thoughts before you go? Next up, their day in Boston. **


End file.
